Summer Or Winter?
by BeautifulMorningStar
Summary: Meet Abigail Lincoln - an attractive teenager experiencing an alarming increase in headaches; but is it merely because of her tangled love life, or something more? Caught between cute best friend Hoagie and mysterious new boy Heinrich, Abby has her work cut out for her. Rated M for future chapters. Also, angst and adventure in future chapters. Bit fluffy for now.
1. A Familiar Winter Tint

A/N: This fic is gonna be pretty long, I should warn you in advance! Not too long, though, I suppose it all depends on what you consider "long". Moving on...

THIS STORY IS DEDICATED TO MY FIRST EVER REVIEWER, Sky Lantern Paradox, because she's awesome :) I sincerely hope you like it!

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Sunlight filtered down through the branches overhead, forming dancing patterns of gold on the leaf-strewn ground. Those patterns shifted and changed as the breeze wafted through the trees. The only sounds were mostly birds calling and children playing, the park being well outside the parameters of the city and its bustle.

A tall, dark teenager leant against the trunk of the tree, her long, wavy ebony hair tied in a ponytail that flowed down her back. A red cap sat atop her head, and she was wearing a dark blue crop top and a pair of fitting maroon jeans. She watched the glimmering play of sunlight on the ground before her through beautiful slanted eyes, lost in thought.

Not too far away, a serious-looking young man watched the girl under the tree, caught up in thoughts of his own.

At first glance, he seemed to fit in well enough with everyone else; he was clad in straight black jeans, a light beige shirt and a long-sleeved, open brown jacket he wore on top of it. Nobody would have guessed that two weeks ago, he had been in a different part of the world, preparing for his stay in America.

The stranger's eyes narrowed as he heard the faint, unmistakable sound of a mobile ringtone, and watched as the girl fidgeted around with one of the pockets of her jeans, trying to fish her phone out of the tight material. He wished he could move _closer_ so he could eavesdrop, but he dared not attract her attention. Not just yet, anyway.

Finally, the girl leaning against the tree managed to get to her phone, and she smiled as she saw the name flashing across the little screen. Sliding the front part of her phone up to answer, she put it to her ear, grinning.

"Hey boy, 'sup?"

"Abby?" The male voice at the other end sounded distracted. It was the kind of voice that made you think of cute dimples and good intentions.

"Ain't gonna be nobody else, baby, you called Abby's cellphone."

"Oh, y-yeah." The voice suddenly sounded nervous. "Well, uhh, it's just… I was wondering, if maybe, uhh…" Abby rolled her eyes as the voice trailed off uncertainly. She wondered for the umpteenth time how she could possibly have gotten a crush on one of the most ridiculously nervous and dorkiest boys she knew; despite his cuteness and the fact that he was one of her closest friends.

"Abby ain't gonna be reading your mind, Gilligan," she stated flatly. "Out with it. You haven't done anything stupid, have you?"

"N-no!" The voice sounded almost insulted. "C'mon, Abby, when do _I_ ever do anything stupid?"

Abby sighed. "Hoagie, I'm not even gonna answer that."

Hoagie chuckled slightly, his low voice melodic. "Listen Abby, the thing is… uhh, well I was thinking, you know that party over at Janet's place tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Abby had been one of the first to be invited, but she had been hesitant about it when told of the theme – Couple's Night. What kind of theme was that for a party? As far as she could tell, Janet the head cheerleader just wanted to reinforce to everyone how perfect her relationship with quarterback star Matthew Jacobson was.

However, a party with a theme like that meant that most people were planning to go as pairs – usually with their partner or a date. She supposed there would be people who'd go in small groups of friends, but somehow she didn't feel like doing that at something with such a blatantly romantic atmosphere.

There was also that awkward little detail of Matthew being one of her ex-boyfriends.

"Well, you know how, uhh… lots of people are planning to go with their date and stuff, right?" Hoagie's voice had reduced to slightly over a mumble. Abby straightened up, moving away from the tree trunk. Was Hoagie doing what she thought he was doing?

"Um, yeah?" Uneasily, she hoped that he wasn't going to ask her for advice on asking some other girl out to that stupid party. She might have to karate chop him into oblivion if he did. She leant forward, staring intently at the ground without really seeing it, unaware of the leaves whirling around in the wind under her gaze.

"Well…" Hoagie hesitated yet again. "If you weren't planning to go with anyone… that is… you're not going with a date, are you?"

"Nah, Abby ain't goin' with anyone," Abby said softly, waiting. She had gotten two invites already, one from a cute jock and another from a cute-enough nerd who could barely talk to her without stumbling over his words. Mind set hopelessly on Hoagie's lively, sky blue eyes, she had declined both.

"Oh, good, cuz…" Abby sucked in a breath. Here it comes, she thought giddily. "Cuz I thought maybe you could take Tommy to that party with you," Hoagie's voice said very quickly. Somewhere in the background, Abby thought she heard a disbelieving shriek and something being knocked over. She heard Hoagie making shushing noises.

"I- _what_?" For once, Abby was actually stunned.

"Yeah, I mean… you know, he's a thirteen-year-old freshman, there's no way he's getting into that party, and he really wants to go." Hoagie's voice sounded higher than usual and rather strained, but Abby couldn't tell if it was because he was lying somehow, or because he was just embarrassed for asking her to accompany his little brother.

Tommy was almost _four_ years younger than them, how could Hoagie ask her to take him anywhere? Not that Abby cared much about it being social suicide, but she did care that instead of going with her himself, he wanted her to go with _Tommy_.

"Let me get this straight." Abigail Lincoln rarely ever lost her cool, but when she did, boy did people start running. She tried to keep the anger from creeping into her voice, but it really took a lot of effort under the circumstances. "You're callin' up Abby to ask her… if she can take your_ little brother_ to that dumb party?"

"Uhmm-"

"_No_, Hoagie. I ain't even goin'. You can take Tommy yourself!"

"Wait, Abby- I didn't-"

"Gotta go. See you around."

"But-" Abby slid her phone down and ended the call, cutting Hoagie's protests short. She supposed she shouldn't have lost her temper that quickly, but of all the ridiculous things that could have gone wrong, _this_ hadn't even occurred to her. She really couldn't blame herself for reacting that way.

Sighing, her back thudded heavily against the tree once more, as her own weight suddenly became too much to handle for a split moment. The wind had picked up, blowing loose strands of her hair across her face, irritating her already rather blurry vision. She impatiently swept her hand across her hairline, and her fingers came away damp – she was tearing up, and she hadn't even realized it.

Annoyed, she rubbed away the offending moisture, shaking her head. What did she care that Hoagie hadn't asked her out? It was just a stupid party, she reassured herself. It's not like she actually wanted to go!

Hearing her ringtone, Abby glanced at the screen to see Hoagie's name again, but determinedly pressed "Busy". She was a little preoccupied at the moment, after all… contemplating her sad love life.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew Abby's cap off its precarious position on her bowed head, as Abby avoided Hoagie's third attempt at reaching her. Sensing the absence of her favourite childhood relic almost immediately, Abby pushed herself away from the tree yet again, eyes following the abducted object as it was carried away through the air.

"Aw man, my hat!" She scrambled down the little grassy mounds, desperate not to lose one of the few things she had kept since she was a little girl. That red cap had always felt so important to her, for reasons even she couldn't understand. It was almost like the connection she had felt when she had first met Hoagie, three years ago at her high school – an emotional connection that seemed to have been forged ages ago, although it was completely new; heavy with significance that wasn't there.

The wind seemed to die down a little, and she spied her cap making a steady descent near a clump of bushes about ten feet away from her. She was just about to jump over some kid's temporarily abandoned bike, when she caught sight of the person who had leaped up out of nowhere and grabbed the item she had been chasing.

Surprised, Abby skidded to a stop in front of her unexpected rescuer, and bent over for a moment to catch her breath. Staring at the large, brown boots now in her line of sight, she eventually looked up at the newcomer, her onyx eyes taking in a tall, lean boy in a brown jacket and black jeans, who looked to be about her age. Abby found herself stunned and breathless for a completely new reason.

The guy's flaxen hair was longish and cut in a style that complimented his face, the back tied up in a high, short ponytail. He was pretty handsome, his nose only slightly bigger than considered conventionally beautiful, and he had a rather pronounced jaw. The thing that most fascinated Abby was the _eyes_; his close-set, almond eyes were the steely blue of winter; a frosty, intense gaze that pierced right through her soul. The moment she looked into them, her mind became strangely blank, and she couldn't look away.

The stranger smiled at her, extending the hand that held her cap. "I belief zis is yours?" His voice dripped with a heavy European accent of some sort, and the sound of it had a strange effect on Abby, sending tingles down her spine.

She suddenly realized that she was gaping at him, still slightly bent over. Straightening up immediately, she flashed him her best smile and flipped her pretty, raven hair back over her shoulder.

"Yeah, it is. Thanks for catchin' it for me." She made to take the cap but he firmly held onto it, and Abby looked back up at him inquiringly.

"It vas a – what is ze term, oh _ja _– a _stroke_ of goot luck on my part."

His smile seemed to get a bit warmer, and something shifted behind his gaze, making Abby stare mindlessly again. If she didn't know any better, she could _almost_ swear that she had seen this boy before; she could _almost_ find something incredibly familiar in those eyes. Something that reached back as far as the history of the cap beneath her fingertips – but that was ridiculous. She was sure that if she _had_ seen this guy before, she would have _definitely_ remembered.

"I zon't mean to be rude," smiling charmingly "-but perhaps you vould like to get a burger vith me? Consider it my reward for helping you vith zis." He indicated the hat. "Just a small amount of your time, is all I ask for."

Abby felt her face heat up considerably as his words sunk in. Some hot stranger who rescued her stupid hat was now asking her out? Hot or not, she _had_ just met him. Then again – Abby gave him a discreet once-over – he didn't seem like a bad sort. Sure, there was a slight aura of mystery about him, which perhaps boasted a little dangerous thrill, but overall he seemed friendly and nice.

She liked friendly and nice – mystery was all well and good, but danger was not something Abigail particularly wanted in her men. She suddenly chided herself for the thought – _her_ _men_? Abby had just met this guy! She reminded herself that he was a stranger – albeit a very attractive, strangely magnetic one – who could have been involved in a gang for all she knew.

"Well…" She drawled out the word. "I ain't so sure that's such a good idea. Thing is, Abby don't really know you, having just met you and all…" She trailed off, looking at his eyes again. If her mind had been wiped blank when she first saw him, then everything had come rushing back – with a vengeance. Her thoughts were in chaos; it felt like a twisted game of connect-the-dots, where half of the dots were missing.

If the stranger had found it odd that she talked about herself in the third person, he didn't show it. He merely laughed, a light, happy sound that sent a pang through Abby's chest. "Oh, fair enuff. It's just not everyday zat I get to meet such a lovely _Fräulein _such as yourself… forgif my impertinence."

Suddenly, she was absolutely sure of several things – one, this guy was German, something she somehow knew as surely as the ground beneath her feet, despite not having met anyone from Germany before. Two, the vibes he gave off at the moment were nothing short of friendly and basically harmless, and he seemed genuinely interested in her - and three, she was going to take him up on his offer. After all, Abigail Lincoln knew how to look after herself. She also figured she ought to go out with more cute guys to get her mind off a certain auburn-haired, indecisive _somebody_.

"Oh alright, I'll bite. So where did you have in mind?" She smiled shyly up at her new discovery, noting that he was at least half a head taller than her.

"How about zat new place down on Worland Street?" The blonde boy smirked down at her in a way that made her blush. "Ze one vit ze huge red and orange sign on it's front. I'm sure you haf seen it before, ahh… Abby, was it?" Abby nodded at him as she recalled the fast food joint that had recently opened for business.

"Yeah, Abby's the name. Sounds like a plan, err-" She looked at him quizzically.

The tall, lean guy removed his monocle for a moment to polish it on the red ascot tied around his throat, hiding the flat collar of his brown jacket. As he replaced the circular lens in front of his left eye, hooking the wire over his ear, he supplied her with the information she sought.

"Heinrich. Ze name's Heinrich, _Mein Fräulein_."

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A/N : Oh hello, I'm back again! "Ze name's Heinrich", obviously everyone saw that coming, but oh well xD Can I just state that I used the name "Worland Street" for no reason whatsoever other than the fact that it popped up in my head when I was lazily thinking of names; I only looked it up later, and realized it's somewhere in Michigan xD But again, I just used the name for no particular reason.

Also, I tried to write his German accent convincingly, and I hope it doesn't distort what he says too much for readers to understand.

Anyways, a bit more action in the next chapter, and reviews would be lovely! :D So very, very lovely. Thanks for reading.


	2. Extra Locks and Cruddy Ruined Moments

A/N: Well, this chapter is longer than the last, so I hope you're prepared to settle down for a while :D

Here the Gilligan brothers is introduced, and a glimpse of another character later on, if you're paying attention! :D Enjoy, and review if you liked it ;)

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Hoagie P. Gilligan sighed in defeat. He had spent the last hour trying not to think of Abby and how badly he had messed up this time, but to no avail. Thoughts of his beautiful best friend plagued him, the guilt of his stupidity an immoveable weight in the pit of his stomach.

Thirteen-year-old Thomas rolled his eyes as he surveyed his pathetic older brother, and stomped over to the sofa the lanky teenager was sprawled out on. He seated himself squarely on Hoagie's legs, making the older boy yelp in surprise and jerk himself away from Tommy. Hoagie shot his brother a glare, but soon settled back into the pit of misery he had dug himself into.

The Gilligan brothers were two specimens of the male gender that girls could appreciate looking at, Tommy being a smaller, chubbier carbon copy of his older brother. With their fine, reddish-brown hair, wide eyes and quirky smiles, both boys held a cute factor high enough to make up for their strange or geeky tendencies. While Tommy was still maturing into his teens, Hoagie had grown into a tall young man, having lost his puppy fat with surprising ease.

He had stopped wearing his brown hat; however, he had kept his yellow aviator goggles, although he now usually wore it around his head most of the time. He had also switched to wearing light blue, unbuttoned shirts over a dark blue, sleeveless undershirt, and baggy brown pants that looked even baggier due to his thin legs.

"You're kinda dumb when it comes to Abby, huh. I mean, you were _this_ close to asking her out," Tommy held out his thumb and forefinger, with barely any space between them, "but then you just had to mess it up. Way to go, Hoags. Oh, and thanks for making her think I have a crush on her or something."

"Shut up Tommy. I freaked out, okay? Besides, you _do_ have a crush on her… I know where that picture I have of her went, I found it in your drawer." Hoagie grinned half-heartedly as he remembered his latest find earlier that day. Tommy's face turned a light shade of red, to Hoagie's muted amusement.

"That's not the point," the younger boy grumbled. "She's just a really nice girl, that's all. The point is, you can't use me whenever you wanna live in denial about her. You know you like her, Hoagie, you've never dated another girl – except that time you were trying to make her jealous, when she was dating that football guy – and recently you don't even notice whenever there's a hot girl around!" Tommy shook his head sadly. "You're a goner for her, man. Just go make it up to her already… I think she likes you too, you know."

Hoagie looked at his little brother as if he was crazy. How could Abigail like Hoagie, when she had the looks that made guys do double takes as she walked past, the attitude of someone who seemed infinitely cooler than you, and the smart-ass ways that had people drawn to her like flies?

Sure, they were close, and there was this weird, undeniable connection between them, but Hoagie was a geek in high school. He was one of those kids who was cute enough to get his share of admiring looks once in a while, but geeky enough to never be first choice for a date. In fact, girls never really tried too hard to even get to know him, not like Abby had. Then again, he hadn't bothered with anyone either, not until he had met Abby in the hallways of high school one day. Their instant mutual liking and understanding of one another just made him all the more certain that he would have her and no one else.

But did she feel the same way?

Hoagie sighed again, then looked over to see Tommy studying him. His annoying little brother had long grown out of his "I wanna be just like you" phase, now sporting black shirts and jeans most of the time, covered by a long, dark blue trench coat. The front of his auburn hair was a little spiky, and he no longer had his goggles, having realized that it was Hoagie's thing to pull off. As much as he previously wanted to be like his older brother, Tom had suddenly changed direction; he now wanted to be completely different, although their eerily identical natural looks wasn't something he could change.

He could still be pretty annoying though.

"Well, if you don't call her up soon, I will!" He jumped off the couch, and raced over to the doorway of the hall before adding, "-and I'll tell her all about your little love sickness for her. So just call her!"

Hoagie jumped up. "You wouldn't dare!" He yelled, and ran after Tommy, but he had already taken off upstairs, and Hoagie knew that when he got into his bedroom and shut the door, there was no way he'd be able to get him. Tommy had installed five different types of locks on his door, in imitation of Hoagie when Hoagie had done it years ago on his own door to keep Tommy out. Tommy hadn't had much use for the locks back then, but these days he found it pretty useful in keeping Hoagie from physically threatening him, or bugging him while he blasted his loud, hardcore rock music.

"I have her number, I stole it ages ago from your cellphone!" Hoagie heard Tommy yell as he clambered up the stairs to see his little brother's grinning face in the doorframe of his bedroom. "Just call her!" He slammed the door shut, and Hoagie heard him hurriedly working away at a couple of the extra locks. He sighed in defeat and threw up his hands in exasperation.

"Okay, okay! I'm calling her _now_! Just don't do anything stupid!" He stomped back downstairs after he heard Tommy's muffled chuckling through the door. Landing back on the couch in the living room, he grabbed his cellphone, which had been sitting abandoned on a nearby coffee table.

Hoagie was suddenly nervous. Was he really going to do this? He had already tried calling Abby back after his mistake, but she had avoided his calls. Would she pick up now that she had had time to cool off? Was he really going to explain the real intention of his first call?

_Yes_, he decided. Abby deserves much better than this, and who knows… maybe she may go to the party with him after all. If she doesn't, well, there's always ice-cream… and ambushing Tommy to beat the crap out of him.

Taking a deep breath, he pressed the "Call" button on her contact number. He waited a few rings, palms sweating, rehearsing what he would say when she picked up… _if_ she picked up. It had already been five rings…

"Hallo?" The sixth dial tone had been interrupted midway, but Hoagie tensed up a little as he realized at once that it wasn't her voice that answered. Confused, he looked at the screen – yes, it was her number he'd called – and put the phone back to his ear, clearing his throat.

"Uhm, hi… where's Abby?"

"Oh, Abigail ist not near her phone right now… vould you like to leaf a message?" The male voice said, laced with curiosity and something like suspicion.

"Uhm, no… that's alright, I'll err, call her back later. Bye."

"All right. Bye." The voice had a note of finality to it, and whomever it was on the other end hung up. Hoagie listened for a while longer, struggling to make sense of what had just happened. A boy had answered his call… on Abby's mobile. Some boy who seemed perfectly comfortable answering her phone and asking for messages. Hoagie told himself he was overreacting, but something about that voice made him feel very uneasy.

"Well!?" Hoagie heard Tommy yell from the upstairs landing. "You've stopped talking, but that was a pretty short call…" He stopped yelling and was about to run back into his room when he saw his older brother at the foot of the staircase.

"She didn't answer her phone," Hoagie said uncertainly. "Some dude answered it."

Tommy winced slightly at the downcast look on his older brother's face. "Oh. Sorry, Hoags…"

/

/

Abby had a melodic way of laughing, and while one wouldn't say it was tinkling or beautiful, exactly, one would definitely start laughing along most times. Heinrich looked at the attractive girl fondly. They had spent nearly four hours just talking about anything that popped into their heads, and he knew she was having a good time. She had only eaten half of her burger, and together they had finished the fries and the ice cream.

"Aw, Henry, that's hilarious!" The usually cool and collected girl looked more open than ever, hair slightly messy, a slight glow in her face and a huge smile on her lips. She was glad she had followed Heinrich to catch a bite – he had led her to a black, brown and red motorcycle parked in one corner of the park, and taken her for a bit of a joy ride to the new fast food place, where they had since spent their time talking, laughing and eating. Well, more of the first two than the third, but neither seemed particularly intent on eating anyway.

It almost successfully erased the strange trepidation she had felt when he had told her his name – the moment those words left his lips, she had felt a sinking feeling in her stomach and the start of a pounding headache. She had suddenly felt like going home instead, but Heinrich had charmingly wheedled her into hanging out with him. The unease had slowly worn off as she spent more time with him, and now she barely noticed it at all.

"_Mein_ Abigail, if you think zat vas funny, you should haf been there ze next zay – I felt like never getting back up again." He said this with such a funny imitation of tragic misery on his pale face that Abby burst out laughing some more.

Heinrich chuckled along, never taking his eyes off the girl before him. He wondered vaguely if she had a boyfriend… perhaps that boy who had called her mobile earlier? Suddenly remembering, Heinrich reached out to grab Abby's phone from off the table.

"What is it, Henry?" Laughter subsiding, Abby called Heinrich by the name he had told her to call him as they rode on his bike. Shouting over the roar of the engine, he had said it was something his American friends had taken to calling him, and he insisted that she did too. Abby had felt another sharp pang at his insistence, but she reluctantly agreed to do so.

"Ah, Abby, I had forgotten to tell you," he said, handing her the phone. "Your friend called your phone vile you vere in ze toilet." He watched as she looked at her call history, and noticed when her face fell. The change in her was so abrupt, it made him sure of his earlier suspicions. "I answered it, but he zid not vant to leaf a message."

"Ahh, well." Abby put her phone back down uneasily. She wasn't sure she even wanted to think about Hoagie when she was having so much fun with her new friend. "Abby can call him back later, no big deal."

"_Ja_, vell… I am sorry I forgot." Heinrich said carefully, picking up on Abby's sudden withdrawal. "I haf been having so much fun, I just didn't think about it."

Abby looked up and regarded Heinrich warmly. Ah, what did it matter that one boy hadn't asked her out to a dumb party? She was over it. Being out here, having fun was basically the best thing she could have possibly agreed to.

"That ain't your fault, Henry," she laughed. "You don't hafta apologize. And uhh… Abby's havin' a really fun time, too."

For a moment, they stared at each other, both smiling slightly in silence. The air between them was almost electric with something Abby easily recognized as intense attraction. She couldn't believe she was actually out having this moment with someone who had been a complete stranger to her four hours ago. However, all her initial crazy, mixed-up feelings seemed to have faded into the background as her one intense desire stood out – to lean over and plant her mouth firmly on Heinrich's.

"Abby." Heinrich had moved closer to her, his eyes locked on hers. She felt herself move towards him too, and didn't bother resisting it. Distantly, she registered a tiny part of her that wanted to run screaming out of the building in horror, but it was a strange urge she didn't understand; so she firmly ignored it, tuning back in to the burning fantasy of lip-locking the blonde boy before her.

"Heinrich…" she murmured, and for a split second she thought she saw his steely blue eyes flash – angrily, if she didn't know any better. She then remembered that he preferred to be called Henry, but would that really anger him? She soon lost her thread of thought as he suddenly closed the distance between their faces quickly and she closed her eyes, waiting expectantly-

"WOAHHH!"

Abby shrieked as someone crashed into the table she and Heinrich were sitting at. Her eyes flew open, and she saw Heinrich jump back with a shocked "_Mein Gott_!", staring at a boy about their age who was partly lying on their table, swearing under his breath. He pushed himself off of the table, awkwardly brushing the remnants of their French fries off his hooded orange jacket and the black muscle shirt beneath it. Luckily he hadn't fallen on Abby's little bit of burger, but his flailing arms had pushed their drinks right over the other side of the table.

"Crud." He bit out, noticing ketchup stains on one of his sleeves. He looked up at the pretty, staring girl and the glowering blonde boy whose table he had crash-landed into. Judging by the way they were positioned, and the looks on their faces, he summed up that they had been enjoying some private time before he had interrupted.

"Ehh, sorry 'bout that, mates," he said, backing away. Abby noted that his accent sounded foreign, though at the moment she couldn't quite place what it sounded like. She suddenly noticed that the newcomer was staring at her quite fixedly, practically gaping. She found herself blushing, but not in a pleasant way somehow. Of all the nerve! She tried to ignore him, although to her surprise she found that to be quite difficult because her eyes kept darting back of their own volition to stare at him some more.

It was almost as if she needed to process more details about him, like the way his sunny blonde hair partially covered his bright green eyes, or how he had a faint scar that ran across the tanned skin of his Adam's apple. For the second time that day, Abigail Lincoln felt like her head was about to explode with something that was still evading her understanding.

The strangest thing was, the small-framed guy before her looked as if he felt the same way too. Eyes still on her, he suddenly grimaced and clutched at the side of his head. Abby looked directly at him, and their gazes locked, onyx eyes on emerald.

Suddenly, Abby sensed movement from Heinrich, and she snapped her gaze away to watch as he got slowly up, glaring at the orange-clad boy. "If you are quite done vith smashing our table," his voice was low and menacing, "perhaps you vould be kind enuff to stop staring at my friend."

Abby gaped at the furious Heinrich, while the other blonde boy just held up his hands in a "whoa there" sort of gesture, but held his ground stubbornly. "Easy there, mate," he said uneasily, his eyes darting towards Abby a few times. "It was an accident. Some idiot kid musta left their stupid burger wrappers around, and I sorta slipped on em, see?"

"Vell, my friend and I vould like to haff the rest of our meal in peace, if you zon't mind."

"Done deal." The boy in the orange jacket suddenly turned up one end of his mouth, sneering at Heinrich, and he shot Abigail one last look of puzzlement before he abruptly turned on his heel and strode away, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets.

Abby released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, her temples throbbing. Suddenly irritated at the thought of another migraine, she glanced over at Heinrich, who was mopping up the spilt drinks with a huge wad of tissues. Their lips had barely even brushed before they had been so rudely interrupted, but maybe it was for the best? Four hours of conversation was hardly any excuse for a full-on lip-lock, and Abby uneasily realized that she had nearly kissed someone she barely knew.

She stood up, suddenly intent on going home and flopping down on her bed for some peace and quiet. Heinrich looked up at her sudden action, and she smiled rather ruefully at him. As if he read her mind, he rose, piling all the trash onto the tray they had brought their food on.

"Ready to leaf, Abigail?" he asked rather wistfully. She sighed; part of her did want to spend more time with Heinrich, but most of her wanted to fall into a dead sleep.

"I'm afraid so, Hein- Henry."

"Vell, at least let me take you back on my bike. It is ze least I could zo, after… vell," he paused awkwardly, unsure of what to say next.

"Well… I did kinda like the ride here," Abby said, and actually had to stop a fit of giggles from escaping her. "I guess a ride home would be kinda nice."

Heinrich smiled at her. "A very goot choice, _Fräulein_." He dumped the stuff on the tray into a nearby trash bin, and slid the tray onto the counter above the bin. Bowing exaggeratedly and holding out a hand, he smirked up at her. "If I may haff ze honour?"

This time Abby couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her throat. Face heating up again, she slid her hand into Heinrich's and said, "Well, I guess you have it then, biker boy." A crooked smile crept onto her face as she allowed Heinrich to lead her out of the fast food joint.

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A/N : Well, I look forward to developing the plot for this story, but as that happens I suppose you'll have to bear with me :D I'll try to keep a reasonable pace with the plot. Will try to update soon! :)


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